BBC sets out non-editorial complaints process review terms
July 21, 2023
By Colin Mann
The BBC has published the Terms of Reference for the review of the BBC’s policies and processes regarding non-editorial complaints. This follows the recent case regarding a complaint about the behaviour of a BBC presenter.
The review will be led by BBC Group Chief Operating Officer Leigh Tavaziva. The work will be undertaken by Deloitte, under the direction of Simon Cuerden, Partner.
The review will commence in July 2023 and will be completed by late autumn.
The objective of the review is to assess the effectiveness of the current BBC policies and processes regarding non-editorial complaints and allegations (complaints) which come into the BBC.
The review will cover complaints received by the BBC Public Service or World Service in the UK. It will not cover the editorial complaints process. Areas of the BBC not currently within scope, e.g., BBC Studios, will be considered for assessment as part of the action plan from this review.
The review will be led by the BBC Group Chief Operating Officer, Leigh Tavaziva. The work will be undertaken by Deloitte, under the direction of Simon Cuerden, Partner, in order to provide an impartial and objective assessment. Board oversight will be provided by Sir Nick Serota, Senior Independent Director of the BBC.
The review will comprise the following steps:
- Identify all the routes into the BBC where different types of non-editorial complaints may be made (the routes) and the relevant BBC policies and processes (processes) that are applied in handling these complaints.
- Assess the identified routes and processes. This will cover the processing and handling of different types of complaints including: receipt and triage, escalation, evidence gathering, co-ordination between business units, roles and responsibilities, governance and oversight.
- Gather specific learnings on the processes deployed in the recent presenter case.
- Identify areas of weakness relating to the complaints routes and processes. Develop prioritised actions for improvement.
- Set out the findings of the review and management’s key remedial action plan to be implemented.